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Children are naturally curious about the world around them, and
curiosity is a powerful motivation for reading. Studies show that
informational reading is critical to success in school. National
Geographic Kids Readers allow you to feed your children’s interests
and create readers who not only can read, but also want to read!

To sustain children’s excitement about reading, we have created a

special program called NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS SUPER READERS.
As kids read each National Geographic Kids Reader, they cross
off its picture on a free National Geographic Kids Super Readers
poster that parents can download from kids.nationalgeographic.com/
superreaders.

Throughout the process, kids and parents go to the website and

download specially designated prizes that reward their effort. Kids
can have even more reading fun online, with lively book-related
activities, quizzes and games, fascinating excerpts, and sneak
previews of upcoming books.

The National Geographic Kids Super Readers program appeals to

kids’ love of accomplishment while providing them with incentives
to keep reading. When the reading experience is fun, children learn
more and achieve more. What could be better than that?

Sincerely,

Mariam Jean Dreher

Professor of Reading Education
University of Maryland, College Park
 For kids who love to discover, learn, and teach,
like George Washington Carver did —K. J.

Copyright © 2016 National Geographic SocietyPhoto Credits

Published by the National Geographic Cover (portrait), Granger, NYC/The Granger Collec-
Society, Washington, D.C. 20036. tion; cover (peanuts), RedHelga/iStockphoto; cover
(peanuts), Shutterstock/Kim Nguyen; 1, Hulton
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or inArchive/
part without written permission of the publisher Getty Images; 3, Hing Vo/Shutterstock; 5, The
is prohibited. Granger
eISBN: 978-1-4263-2288-4 Collection, NYC—All rights reserved; 6, The Granger
Collection, NYC—All rights reserved; 7, Corbis; 8
Editor: Shelby Alinsky (BOTH), George Washington Carver National
Art Director: Callie Broaddus Monu-
Editorial: Snapdragon Books ment/National Park Service; 10, George
Designer: YAY! Design Washington
Photo Editor: Christina Ascani Carver National Monument/National Park Service;
Special Projects Assistant: Kathryn Williams 11, The Granger Collection, NYC—All rights
Rights Clearance Specialists: Michael Cassady reserved;
& Mari Robinson
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Manufacturing Manager: Rachel Faulise Images; 12 (LO), © INTERFOTO/Alamy; 13 (UPLE),
Production Editor: Mike O’Connor Jiang
Managing Editor: Grace Hill Hongyan/Shutterstock; 13 (CTR LE),
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The publisher and author gratefully acknowledge
the expert content review of this book by Paxtontime.com;
(LO),
13 (CTR RT), Archive Pics/Alamy; 13
J. Williams, Esq., former executive director of the
Jon Helgason/Alamy; 14 (UP), The Granger
George Washington Carver Birthplace Association,
and the literacy review of this book by Mariam Collection,
Jean Dreher, professor of reading education at the
NYC—All rights reserved; 14 (LO),
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15, The Granger Collection, NYC—All rights
reserved;
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reserved; 17 (CTR), Iowa State U, Special
Collections
National Geographic supports K–12 educators Dept.; 17ELA
with (LO),Common
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Core Resources. 18 (UPLE),
Visit natgeoed.org/commoncore Old
Dogfor more information.Images; 18 (CTR), Preto
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(UPRT), Corbis; 19 (CTR), Zoonar Gmb/Alamy; 19
Who Was Carver? 4

Growing Up 8

In His Time 12

A Love of Learning 14

6 Cool Facts About Carver 18

Helping Others 20

Good Ideas 26

Hard Work 28

What in the World? 30

Glossary 32
George Washington Carver loved

studying plants. He showed

farmers how to grow sustainable

(suh-STANE-uh-bul) crops.

That helped them farm better

and eat better.

He also found that hundreds of

things could be made from peanut

plants. Growing peanuts helped

farmers earn money.

SUSTAINABLE:
Grown in a way that
keeps the soil healthy
This painting of George Washington
Carver was made in 1942.
Many black farmers were too poor to buy their own land. Instead,
they had to rent it. They paid the owner a share of their crops.
In Carver’s time, life was hard

for many black people in the

United States. They did not have

the same rights as white people.

Carver felt that this was wrong.

He used his ideas about farming

to help change people’s lives.

Carver was one of the most famous

African Americans of his time.
 The cabin where
Carver lived as a boy
is gone. This outline
(photo above) was
built later to show
how small it was.
This sketch (right)
was drawn by Carver.
It shows how he
remembers the cabin.

George Washington Carver was

born on a farm near Diamond,

Missouri, U.S.A.
Most people think he was born

around 1864. No one knows

for sure. But we do know he

was born a slave.

Back then, slaves were often

given their owner’s last name.

George’s owners were Moses

and Susan Carver. So his last

name was Carver too.

SLAVE: A person
who is owned
by another person
This statue shows Carver
as a boy. It stands at
the George Washington
Carver National
Monument in Diamond,
Missouri. This was the
first national monument
to honor an African
American.
One night, men kidnapped baby

George Carver and his mother.

He was returned to the farm, but

his mother was not.

Soon after, slavery ended. Moses

and Susan Carver decided to

raise George. As a boy, he loved

to explore the farm. He collected

rocks. He grew a garden. He

asked questions.

“When I talk to the little

flower or to the little
peanut, they will give up
their secrets.”
Carver grew up in the midwestern

United States during the 1870s.

Back then, many things were different

from how they

are today.

TRANSPORTATION:
Many people traveled
on foot, in wagons
pulled by horses, or by
steamboat or train.

MONEY: Most freed

slaves had little or no
money. They often traded
for things they needed.
 FOOD: Few people shopped in
stores for food. Instead, they
raised farm animals. They also
grew fruits and vegetables to
feed their families.

SCHOOL: Children
went to school in one-
room schoolhouses
or even old barns.

U.S. EVENTS:
In 1872, Ulysses S. Grant
was re-elected president
TOYS AND FUN: of the United States.
Children spent
time outdoors
and played with
handmade toys.
Carver loved to learn. But in

his town, black children could

not go to school. Carver

learned to read at home. He

had only one book.

“My soul
thirsted for an
education.”
 This drawing shows a school for black children during Carver’s time.

Carver wanted to learn more.

At around age 13, he left home.

He lived with a black family

in a nearby town. There he went

to a school for black children.

Later, Carver wanted to go to

college. Many black Americans still

faced racism (RAY-siz-um). One

school would not let Carver in

because he was black.

But he didn’t give up. He became

the first black student at Iowa State

College. He studied agriculture

(AG-ri-kul-chur).

RACISM: The belief

that one group of people
is better than another
AGRICULTURE: The science
of farming
In 1894, Carver got his degree
from Iowa State College
(shown below).
 Carver grew up on a
farm with horses, cattle,
honeybees, and wheat
crops.

As a boy, Carver helped

people with their sick
plants. They called him
the “plant doctor.”

The U.S. Navy

named two ships
after Carver.
Carver added “Washington”
to his name because
another George Carver lived
in his town.

Carver loved art.

He made paint
from berries. He
tied twigs together
for a brush.

Three U.S.
presidents asked
for Carver’s
advice on
farming.

Carver meeting President

Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939
After college, Carver became a

teacher. He worked at a school in

Alabama called Tuskegee Institute

(tuh-SKEE-gee IN-stuh-toot).

Carver (front row, center) sits with his

fellow teachers at Tuskegee Institute.
 Carver (second from right) taught in this lab
at Tuskegee Institute in 1906.

There he did important work

with plants. He found many new

ways to use sweet potatoes and

soybeans. He invented hundreds

of new things, such as paints,

plastics, and dyes.

He also wanted to help farmers.

He built a classroom on a wagon.

It was pulled by mules. He drove

the wagon to nearby farms to

teach about agriculture.

This was the first wagon classroom Carver used.

Most farmers couldn’t
come to Carver’s
classroom. So Carver
wanted to bring his
ideas to them.
Carver thought that planting

peanuts could help farmers too.

Peanut plants would keep the

soil healthy.
 Carver said a massage
with peanut oil could help
a sick person. The oil was
sold in bottles like these.

Farmers could also sell this crop to

earn more money. Carver had found

more than 300 ways to use peanut

plants. They could be turned into glue,

medicine, gasoline, and even paper.

 Carver traveled. He gave speeches

about farming. He spoke about

peanuts. He also spoke about

treating all people fairly.

In 1921, he spoke to the U.S.

Congress. Some people in

Congress didn’t want to listen to

a black man. But he had good

ideas. Finally Congress listened.

They shared his ideas with others.

1864 1865 1877

Born around this year Slavery ends in the Leaves home to
United States go to school
 “I want to feel that my life has
been of some service to my
fellow man.”

1894 1896

Earns his first degree from Earns another degree from

Iowa State College Iowa State College
Carver died in 1943. He was

around 79 years old. Carver’s hard

work helped many people. His ideas

helped poor farmers

have better lives.

His story shows

the power of

learning and

helping others.

1896 1921
Starts teaching at Tuskegee Institute Speaks to U.S. Congress about
in Alabama the many uses of peanuts
 The George Washington Carver
Museum at Tuskegee Institute

Carver’s picture appeared on

a 32-cent U.S. postage stamp
in 1998. It was the second
stamp with his picture.

1943 1948 1965

Dies on His picture appears The U.S. Navy names a

January 5 on a three-cent U.S. submarine the U.S.S. George
postage stamp Washington Carver
These pictures show up-close views

of items from George Washington

Carver’s time. Use the hints to

figure out what’s in the pictures.

Answers are on page 31.

HINT: Carver found many HINT: The U.S. Navy named two
uses for this crop. of these in Carver’s honor.
 mules berries books rocks ships peanuts

HINT: Carver loved to read but HINT: These animals pulled

had only one of these as a child. Carver’s wagon classroom.

HINT: Carver made HINT: Carver collected these on

paint with these. the farm where he grew up.
skcor .6 ,seirreb .5 ,selum .4 ,skoob .3 ,spihs .2 ,stunaep .1 :srewsnA
 AGRICULTURE: The science RACISM: The belief that
of farming one group of people is
better than another

SLAVE: A person who is owned SUSTAINABLE: Grown in a way

by another person that keeps the soil healthy
Random documents with unrelated
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Tolstoi for the young:
Select tales from Tolstoi
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
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Title: Tolstoi for the young: Select tales from Tolstoi

Author: graf Leo Tolstoy

Illustrator: Michel Sevier

Translator: R. S. Townsend

Release date: April 9, 2016 [eBook #51708]

Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOLSTOI FOR

THE YOUNG: SELECT TALES FROM TOLSTOI ***
 TOLSTOI FOR THE YOUNG

IVAN THE FOOL.

Frontispiece.]

TOLSTOI FOR THE

YOUNG
 SELECT TALES FROM TOLSTOI

Translated from the Russian

By
MRS. R. S. TOWNSEND

WITH SIX COLOURED PLATES BY MICHEL SEVIER

LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Ltd
New York: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
1916
 CONTENTS
PAGE
Ivan the Fool 1
Where there is Love, there is God also 57
A Prisoner 82
Emelian and the Empty Drum 138
The Great Bear 156
Three Questions 158
The Godson 167
 LIST OF COLOURED PLATES
Ivan the Fool Frontispiece
Where there is Love, there is God also To face p. 57
A Prisoner 82
Emelian and the Empty Drum 138
Three Questions 158
The Godson 167
 IVAN THE FOOL
THE STORY OF IVAN THE FOOL AND HIS TWO BROTHERS SIMON THE
WARRIOR AND TARAS THE POT-BELLIED, AND OF HIS DEAF AND
DUMB SISTER, AND THE OLD DEVIL AND THREE LITTLE
DEVILKINS.
Once upon a time there lived a rich peasant, who had three sons—Simon
the Warrior, Taras the Pot-bellied, and Ivan the Fool, and a deaf and dumb
daughter, Malania, an old maid.
Simon the Warrior went off to the wars to serve the King; Taras the Pot-
bellied went to a merchant’s to trade in the town, and Ivan the Fool and the
old maid stayed at home to do the work of the house and the farm. Simon
the Warrior earned a high rank for himself and an estate and married a
nobleman’s daughter. He had a large income and a large estate, but he could
never make both ends meet, for, what he managed to gather in, his wife
managed to squander; thus it was that he never had any money.
And Simon the Warrior went to his estate one day to collect his income,
and his steward said to him, “There is nothing to squeeze money out of; we
have neither cattle, nor implements, nor horses, nor cows, nor ploughs, nor
harrows; we must get all these things first, then there will be an income.”
Then Simon the Warrior went to his father and said, “You are rich,
father; and have given me nothing, let me have a third of your possessions
and I will set up my estate.”
And the old man replied, “Why should I? You have brought nothing to
the home. It would be unfair to Ivan and the girl.”
And Simon said, “Ivan is a fool and Malania is deaf and dumb; they do
not need much, surely.”
“Ivan shall decide,” the old man said.
And Ivan said, “I don’t mind; let him take what he wants.”
Simon took a portion of his father’s goods and moved them to his estate,
and once more he set out to serve the King.
Taras the Pot-bellied made a great deal of money and married a
merchant’s widow, but still, it seemed to him that he had not enough, so he
too went to his father and said, “Give me my portion, father.” And the old
man was loath to give Taras his portion, and he said, “You have brought us
nothing; everything in the home has been earned by Ivan; it would be unfair
to him and the girl.”
And Taras said, “Ivan is a fool, what does he need? He cannot marry, for
no one would have him, and the girl is deaf and dumb and does not need
much either.” And turning to Ivan, he said, “Let me have half the corn, Ivan.
I will not take any implements, and as for the cattle, I only want the grey
cob; he is of no use to you for the plough.”
Ivan laughed.
“Very well,” he said, “you shall have what you want.”
And Taras was given his portion, and he carted the corn off to the town
and took away the grey cob, and Ivan was left with only the old mare to
work the farm and support his father and mother.
II
The old Devil was annoyed that the three brothers had not quarrelled
over the matter and had parted in peace. He summoned three little
Devilkins.
“There are three brothers,” he said, “Simon the Warrior, Taras the Pot-
bellied, and Ivan the Fool. I want them all to quarrel and they live in peace
and goodwill. It is the Fool’s fault. Go to these three brothers, the three of
you, and confound them so that they will scratch out each others’ eyes. Do
you think you can do it?”
“We can,” they said.
“How will you do it?”
“We will ruin them first,” they said, “so that they have nothing to eat,
then we will put them all together and they will begin to fight.”
“I see you know your work,” the old Devil said. “Go then, and do not
return to me until you have confounded the whole three, or else I will skin
you alive.”
And the Devilkins set out to a bog to confer on the matter, and they
argued and argued, for each wanted the easiest work, and they decided to
cast lots and each to take the brother that fell to him, and whichever
finished his work first was to help the others. And the Devilkins cast lots
and fixed a day when they should meet again in the bog, in order to find out
who had finished his work and who was in need of help.
 The day arrived and the Devilkins gathered together in the bog. They
began to discuss their work. The first to give his account was the one who
had undertaken Simon the Warrior. “My work is progressing well,” he said.
“To-morrow Simon will return to his father.”
“How did you manage it?” the others asked him.
“First of all,” he said, “I gave Simon so much courage that he promised
the King to conquer the whole world. And the King made him the head of
his army and sent him to make war on the King of India. That same night I
damped the powder of Simon’s troops and I went to the King of India and
made him numberless soldiers out of straw. And when Simon saw himself
surrounded by the straw soldiers, a fear came upon him and he ordered the
guns to fire, but the guns and cannon would not go off. And Simon’s troops
were terrified and ran away like sheep, and the King of India defeated them.
Simon was disgraced. He was deprived of his rank and estate and to-
morrow he is to be executed. I have only one day left in which to get him
out of the dungeon and help him to escape home. To-morrow I shall have
finished with him, so I want you to tell me which of you two is in need of
help.”
Then the second Devilkin began to tell of his work with Taras. “I do not
want help,” he said; “my work is also going well. Taras will not live in the
town another week. The first thing I did was to make his belly grow bigger
and fill him with greed. He is now so greedy for other people’s goods that
whatever he sees he must buy. He has bought up everything he could lay his
eyes on, and spent all his money, and is still buying with borrowed money.
He has taken so much upon himself, and become so entangled that he will
never pull himself out. In a week he will have to repay the borrowed
money, and I will turn his wares into manure so that he cannot repay, then
he will go to his father.”
“And how is your work getting on?” they asked the third Devilkin about
Ivan.
“My work is going badly,” he said. “The first thing I did was to spit into
Ivan’s jug of kvas to give him a stomach-ache and then I went into his fields
and made the soil as hard as stones so that he could not move it. I thought
he would not plough it, but the fool came with his plough and began to pull.
His stomach-ache made him groan, yet still he went on ploughing. I broke
one plough for him and he went home and repaired another, and again
persisted in his work. I crawled beneath the ground and clutched hold of his
ploughshares, but I could not hold them—he pressed upon the plough so
hard, and the shares were sharp and cut my hands. He has finished it all but
one strip. You must come and help me, mates, for singly we shall never get
the better of him, and all our labour will be wasted. If the fool keeps on
tilling his land, the other two brothers will never know what need means,
for he will feed them.”
The first Devilkin offered to come and help to-morrow when he had
disposed of Simon the Warrior, and with that the three Devilkins parted.
III
Ivan had ploughed all the fallow but one strip, and he went to finish that.
His stomach ached, yet he had to plough. He undid the harness ropes,
turned over the plough and set out to the fields. He drove one furrow, but
coming back, the ploughshares caught on something that seemed like a root.
“What a strange thing!” Ivan thought. “There were no roots here, yet
here’s a root!”
He put his hand into the furrow and clutched hold of something soft. He
pulled it out. It was a thing as black as a root and it moved. He looked
closely and saw that it was a live Devilkin.
“You horrid little wretch, you!”
Ivan raised his hand to dash its head against the plough, but the Devilkin
squealed, “Don’t kill me, and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
“What can you do?”
“Tell me what you want.”
Ivan scratched his head.
“My stomach aches,” he said; “can you make it well?”
“I can.”
“Do it, then.”
The Devilkin bent down, rummaged about with his nails in the furrow
and pulled out three little roots, grown together.
“There,” he said; “if any one swallows a single one of these roots all
pain will pass away from him.”
Ivan took the three roots, separated them and swallowed one. His
stomach-ache instantly left him.
 “Let me go now,” the Devilkin begged once more. “I will dive through
the earth and never bother you again.”
“Very well,” Ivan said; “go, in God’s name.”
At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone
thrown into water, and there was nothing but the hole left. Ivan thrust the
two remaining little roots into his cap and went on with his ploughing. He
finished the strip, turned over his plough and set off home. He unharnessed
and went into the house, and there was his brother, Simon the Warrior,
sitting at table with his wife, having supper. His estate had been taken from
him; he had escaped from prison and come back to live with his father.
As soon as Simon the Warrior saw Ivan, he said to him, “I have come
with my wife to live with you; will you keep us both until I find another
place?”
“Very well,” Ivan said, “you can live here.”
When Ivan sat down by the table, the smell of him was displeasing to the
lady and she said to her husband, “I cannot sup together with a stinking
peasant.”
And Simon the Warrior said, “My lady says you do not smell sweet; you
had better eat in the passage.”
“Very well,” Ivan said. “It is time for bed anyway, and I must feed the
mare.”
Ivan took some bread and his coat and went out for the night.
IV
That night, having freed himself of Simon the Warrior, the first little
Devilkin set out to seek Ivan’s Devilkin, to help him plague the Fool as they
had agreed. He came to the fields, looked all round for his mate, but he was
nowhere to be seen; he only found a hole. “I see some misfortune has
happened to my mate; I must take his place. The ploughing is all finished; I
must upset the Fool at the mowing.”
And the Devilkin went to the meadow and flooded it and trampled the
hay in the mud.
Ivan awoke at daybreak, put his scythe in order and set out to the
meadow to mow the hay. Ivan swung the scythe once, he swung it twice,
but the scythe grew blunt and would not cut; he had to sharpen it. Ivan
struggled and struggled and struggled.
 “This won’t do,” he said; “I must go home and bring a whetstone and a
hunk of bread. If it takes me a week I’ll not give up until I’ve mowed it
every bit.”
And the Devilkin grew pensive when he heard these words.
“The Fool has a temper,” he said; “I can’t catch him this way; I must
think of something else.”
Ivan returned, sharpened his scythe and began to mow. The Devilkin
crept into the grass, caught hold of the scythe by the heel and pushed the
point into the ground. It was hard for Ivan, but he mowed all the grass,
except a little piece in the swamp.
The Devilkin crept into the swamp, thinking, “Even if I have to cut my
hands I won’t let him mow that!”
Ivan came to the swamp. The grass was not thick, but the scythe could
not cut through it. Ivan grew angry and began to mow with all his might.
The Devilkin began to lose hold, seeing that he was in a bad plight, but he
had no time to get away and took refuge in a bush. Ivan swung the scythe
near the bush and cut off half the Devilkin’s tail. He finished mowing the
grass, told the old maid to rake it up and went away to mow the rye.
He came to the field with his sickle, but the Devilkin with the clipped
tail was there before him. He had entangled the rye, so that the sickle could
not take it. Ivan went back for his reaping-hook and reaped the whole field
of rye. “Now,” he said, “I must tackle the oats.”
At these words the Devilkin with the clipped tail thought, “I did not trip
him up with the rye, but I’ll do so with the oats. If only the morrow would
come!”
In the morning the Devilkin hurried off to the field of oats, but the oats
were all harvested. Ivan had reaped them overnight so that less of the grain
should be wasted. The Devilkin lost his temper at that.
“He has mutilated and exhausted me, the fool! I’ve never had such
trouble on the battlefield even. The wretch doesn’t sleep and you can’t get
ahead of him. I’ll creep into the stacks of sheaves and rot the grain.”
And the Devilkin crept into a stack of sheaves, and began to rot them.
He heated them, grew warm himself and fell asleep.
Ivan harnessed the mare and set out with his sister to gather in the
sheaves. He stopped by the stack and began to throw the sheaves into the
cart. He had thrown up two sheaves and was going to take up a third, when
the fork dug into the Devilkin’s back. He looked at the prongs and saw a
live Devilkin with his tail clipped, wriggling and writhing and trying to get
away.
“You horrid little wretch! You here again!”
“I’m not the same one,” the Devilkin pleaded. “The other was my
brother. I belong to your brother Simon.”
“Whoever you are you shall share the same fate.”
Ivan was about to dash it against the cart, when the Devilkin cried out,
“Spare me! I’ll not worry you again, and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
“What can you do?”
“I can make soldiers out of anything you choose.”
“What good are they?”
“You can make them do anything you like. Soldiers can do everything.”
“Can they play songs?”
“They can.”
“Very well; make some, then.”
And the Devilkin said, “Take a sheaf of rye and bump it upright on the
ground, saying,—

My slave bids you be a sheaf no more.

Every straw contained in you,
Must turn into a soldier true.”

Ivan took the sheaf and banged it on the ground and repeated the
Devilkin’s words. And the sheaf burst asunder and every straw turned into a
soldier and at their head the drummer and bugler were playing. Ivan
laughed aloud.
“That was clever of you,” he said. “It will amuse Malania.”
“Let me go now,” the Devilkin begged.
“Not yet,” Ivan said. “I shall want to make the soldiers out of chaff so as
not to waste the grain. Show me first how to turn the soldiers into a sheaf
again, so that I can thrash it.”
And the Devilkin said, “Repeat the words—
 My slave bids every soldier be a straw
And turn into a sheaf once more.”

Ivan repeated the Devilkin’s words, and the soldiers turned into a sheaf
again.
And again the Devilkin pleaded, “Let me go.”
“Very well,” Ivan said, taking him off the prongs. “Go, in God’s name.”
At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone
thrown into water, and there was nothing but the hole left.
When Ivan reached home, his other brother, Taras, and his wife were
sitting at table and having supper. Taras could not pay his debts; he fled
from his creditors and came home to his father. As soon as he saw Ivan he
said, “Until I can make some more money, will you keep me and my wife?”
“Very well,” Ivan said. “You can live here.”
Ivan took off his coat and sat down to table.
And Taras’ wife said, “I cannot sup with a fool; he smells of sweat.”
Taras the Pot-bellied said, “You do not smell sweet, Ivan; go and eat in
the passage.”
“Very well,” Ivan said; “it’s time for bed, anyhow, and I must feed the
mare.”
He took his coat and a piece of bread, and went out.
V
That night, having disposed of Taras, the third little Devilkin came to
help his mates plague Ivan, as they had agreed. He came to the ploughed
field and looked and looked, but could see no one; he only found the hole.
Then he went to the meadow and found a piece of tail in the swamp, and in
the rye-stubble field he found another hole.
“I see some misfortune has happened to my mates. I must take their
places and tackle the Fool.”
The Devilkin set out to find Ivan.
Ivan had finished his work in the fields and had gone into the copse to
cut wood.
The brothers found it too crowded to live together in their father’s house
and they ordered Ivan to fell timber to build themselves new houses.
 The Devilkin rushed into the wood and crept into the knots of the trees
to prevent Ivan from felling them.
Ivan had cut a tree in the right way so that it should fall on to a clear
space, but the tree seemed to be possessed, and fell over where it was not
wanted, and got entangled among the branches. Ivan lopped them off with
his bill-hook and at last, with great difficulty, brought down the tree. He
began to fell another and the same thing was repeated. He struggled and
struggled and succeeded only after great exertion. He began on a third and
the same thing happened. Ivan had intended to fell fifty trees at least, and he
had not managed more than ten, and night was coming on. Ivan was
exhausted, and the steam rose from him and floated through the wood like a
mist; yet still he would not give up. He felled another tree and his back
began to ache so that he could not go on. He stuck his axe into the trunk of
a tree and sat down to rest.
When the Devilkin realized that Ivan had ceased to work, he rejoiced.
“He is worn out at last,” he thought; “now I can rest too.” And he sat
himself astride on a branch, exulting.
Ivan rose, took out his axe, flourished it aloft, and brought it down so
heavily that the tree came down with a crash. The Devilkin had no time to
disentangle his legs; the branch broke and pinned down his paw.
Ivan began to clear the tree and behold! there was a live Devilkin. Ivan
was amazed.
“You horrid little wretch! You here again!”
“I am not the same one,” the Devilkin said. “I belong to your brother
Taras.”
“Whoever you may be, you shall share the same fate.” And Ivan raised
the axe to bring it down on its head, but the Devilkin began to plead.
“Don’t kill me,” he said, “and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
“What can you do?”
“I can make as much money as you like.”
“Very well,” Ivan said; “make it, then.”
And the Devilkin taught him what to do.
“Take some leaves from this oak and rub them in your hands and gold
will fall to the ground.”
Ivan took the leaves and rubbed them in his hand and gold rained down.
 “This is well,” he said; “on holidays it will amuse the children.”
“Let me go,” the Devilkin begged.
“I don’t mind,” Ivan said, and taking up his axe, he freed the Devilkin of
the branch. “Go, in God’s name.”
At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone
thrown into water and there was nothing but the hole left.
VI
The brothers built themselves houses and began to live apart. Ivan
finished his work in the fields, brewed some beer and invited his brothers to
a feast. The brothers did not accept his invitation.
“We do not go to feast with peasants,” they said.
Ivan treated the peasants and the peasant-women and drank himself until
he got tipsy, and he went into the street and joined the dancers and singers.
He approached the women, and bade them sing his praises.
“I will give you something you have never seen in your lives,” he said.
The women laughed and began to sing his praises, and when they had
finished, they said, “Well, give us what you promised.”
“I will bring it in a moment,” Ivan said, and he took his seed-basket and
ran into the wood.
The women laughed. “What a fool!” they said, and forgot all about him,
when behold! Ivan returned, his basket full of something.
“Shall I share it out?”
“Do.”
Ivan took up a handful of gold and threw it to the women. Heavens! The
women rushed to pick it up, the peasants after them, snatching it out of each
others’ hands. One old woman was nearly killed in the fray.
Ivan laughed.
“You fools!” he said. “Why did you hurt Granny? If you are not so rough
I’ll give you some more.”
He scattered more gold. The whole village came up. Ivan emptied his
basket. The people asked for more, but he said, “Not now; another time I’ll
give you more. Now let us dance. You play some songs.”
The women began to play.
 “I don’t like your songs,” Ivan said.
“Do you know any better ones?”
“You shall see in a moment.”
Ivan went into a barn, took up a sheaf, thrashed it, stood it up, and
banged it on the floor, and said—

My slave bids you be a sheaf no more.

Every straw contained in you
Must turn into a soldier true.

And the sheaf burst asunder and turned into soldiers, and the drummers
and buglers played at their head. Ivan asked the soldiers to play some songs,
and led them into the street. The people were amazed.
When the soldiers had played their songs Ivan took them back into the
barn, forbidding any one to follow. He turned the soldiers into a sheaf again
and threw it on a pile of straw, then he went home and lay down to sleep in
the stables.
VII
Simon the Warrior heard of these things next morning, and went to his
brother.
“Tell me,” he said, “where did you get the soldiers from, and where did
you take them to?”
“What does it matter to you?”
“Matter, indeed! With soldiers one can do anything. One can conquer a
kingdom.”
Ivan wondered.
“Really! Then why didn’t you tell me before?” he said. “I will make you
as many soldiers as you like. It is well Malania and I have threshed so much
straw.”
Ivan took his brother to the barn and said, “Look here, if I make the
soldiers you must take them away at once, for if we have to feed them they
will eat up the whole village in a day.”
Simon the Warrior promised to take the soldiers away, and Ivan began to
make them. He banged a sheaf on the threshing-floor and a company
appeared. He banged another sheaf and a second company appeared. He
made so many soldiers that they filled the whole field.
“Are there enough now?” he asked.
Simon was overjoyed and said, “That will do, Ivan, thank you.”
“Very well. If you want more, come back and I’ll make them for you.
There is plenty of straw this year.”
Simon the Warrior soon put his troops in order, and went away to make
war.
He had no sooner gone than Taras the Pot-bellied came along. He, too,
had heard of yesterday’s affair and he said to his brother, “Tell me where
you get gold money from. If only I could get hold of some I could make it
bring in money from the whole world.”
Ivan wondered.
“Really? Then why didn’t you tell me before? I’ll make you as much as
you like.”
Taras was overjoyed.
“I shall be satisfied with three baskets full,” he said.
“Very well; come into the wood,” Ivan said; “but I had better harness the
mare, for you won’t be able to carry it away.”
They rode into the wood. Ivan began to rub the oak leaves, and made a
heap of gold.
“Is it enough?” he asked.
Taras was overjoyed.
“It will do for the present, thank you, Ivan,” he said.
“Very well,” Ivan said; “if you want more, come back and I’ll make it
for you. There are plenty of leaves left.”
Taras the Pot-bellied gathered up a whole cartload of money, and went
off to trade.
Both brothers had gone—Simon to make war and Taras to trade. And
Simon the Warrior conquered a kingdom, and Taras the Pot-bellied made
much money in trade.
When the two brothers met they told each other how they had come by
their soldiers and money.
 Simon the Warrior said to his brother, “I have conquered a kingdom for
myself and live well, only I have not enough money to feed my soldiers.”
And Taras the Pot-bellied said, “I have made a heap of money, only
unfortunately I have no one to guard it.”
And Simon the Warrior said, “Let us go to our brother Ivan. I will ask
him to make more soldiers and give them to you to guard your money, and
you must ask him to make more money and give it to me to feed my
soldiers.”
And they came to Ivan.
And Simon said, “I haven’t enough soldiers, brother. Will you make
another couple of sheaves for me?”
Ivan shook his head.
“No,” he said; “I won’t make you any more soldiers.”
“But you promised you would.”
“I know I promised, but I won’t make any more.”
“Why not, you fool?”
“Because your soldiers killed a man. I will not let you have any more.”
And he was obstinate, and would not make any more soldiers.
Then Taras the Pot-bellied asked Ivan the Fool to make him more golden
money.
Ivan shook his head.
“No,” he said; “I won’t make any more money.”
“But you promised.”
“I know I promised, but I won’t make any more.”
“Why not, you fool?”
“Because your money took a cow away from a woman in the village.”
“But how can that be?”
“The woman had a cow. The children used to drink the milk, but the
other day they came to beg a little milk of me. ‘But where’s your cow?’ I
asked them, and they said, ‘Taras’ bailiff came and gave mother three
golden coins and she gave him the cow; now we have no milk to drink.’ I
thought you only wanted to play with the golden coins, but you’ve taken
away the cow from the children; I won’t give you any more.”
 And the Fool was obstinate and kept to his word.
And the brothers went away and deliberated over their difficult situation
in order to find a way out.
Simon said, “This is what we must do. You give me some of your money
to feed my soldiers, and I’ll give you half my kingdom and soldiers to guard
your money.”
Taras agreed. The brothers divided their possessions, and both became
kings and both were rich.
VIII
And Ivan lived at home, supporting his father and mother and working in
the fields with his deaf and dumb sister.
One day Ivan’s yard-dog fell sick. He grew mangy, and was near dying.
Ivan pitied it. He took a piece of bread from his sister, put it in his cap,
carried it out and threw it to the dog. The creases in his cap parted and out
rolled one of the little roots with the bread. The dog ate it up. As soon as it
had swallowed the root it began to jump about and bark and play and wag
its tail. It was quite well again.
The father and mother were amazed.
“How did you cure the dog?” they asked.
And Ivan said, “I had two little roots that could cure any pain, and the
dog swallowed one.”
It happened at the time that the King’s daughter fell ill, and the King
proclaimed to every town and village that he would reward any man who
could cure her, and that if he were an unmarried man he should have her for
his wife. The news came to Ivan’s village.
And the father and mother summoned Ivan and said to him, “Have you
heard of the King’s promise? You told us you had a little root that could
cure any sickness; go, cure the King’s daughter, you will then be happy for
life.”
“Very well,” Ivan said, “I will go.”
And Ivan prepared himself for the journey, and they dressed him in his
best clothes. When he came out on the doorstep he saw a beggar-woman
with a crippled hand.
 “I heard that you can cure the sick,” she said. “Cure my hand, for I
cannot even put on my own shoes.”
“Very well,” Ivan said. And he took the little root out of his cap, gave it
to the beggar-woman and told her to swallow it. As soon as she swallowed
it, she recovered, and began to wave her hand.
The father and mother came out to bid good-bye to Ivan, and they heard
that he had given away his last root and had nothing left with which to cure
the King’s daughter, and they began to scold him.
“You pity a beggar-woman, yet have no pity for the King’s daughter,”
they reproached him.
But Ivan was sorry for the King’s daughter. He harnessed the mare,
threw some straw into the cart and got in.
“Where are you going to, you fool?”
“To cure the King’s daughter.”
“But you have nothing to cure her with now.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, and drove away.
He came to the King’s palace, and as soon as he stepped over the
threshold the King’s daughter got well.
The King was overjoyed. He ordered Ivan to be brought to him, and
dressed him in fine clothes.
“You must be my son-in-law,” he said.
“Very well,” Ivan said.
And Ivan married the princess. Her father died soon after, and Ivan
became King.
All three brothers were now kings.
IX
The three brothers lived and reigned.
The elder brother Simon the Warrior lived well. With his straw soldiers
he gathered together real soldiers. Throughout the whole of his kingdom he
ordered a levy of one soldier for every ten houses, and each soldier had to
be tall and whole of body and clean of face. In this way he gathered many
soldiers and trained them. If any one opposed him he sent his soldiers off at
once and imposed his will, and people began to fear him. His life was a
very goodly one. Whatever he saw and wanted was his. He sent his soldiers
and they brought him all he wanted.
Taras the Pot-bellied also lived well. He did not lose the money Ivan had
given him, but increased it a hundredfold. He introduced law and order into
his kingdom. He stowed his money away in coffers and levied taxes on the
people. There was a poll-tax, and tolls for walking and driving, and a tax on
shoes and stockings and frills. He got whatever he wanted. For money
people brought him everything, and even worked for him, for every one
wanted money.
Ivan the Fool, too, did not live badly. As soon as his father-in-law was
dead he took off his royal robes and gave them to his wife to stow away in a
chest. And he put on his coarse linen shirt and breeches and peasant shoes
and began to work once more.
“It’s so dull for me,” he said. “I’ve got fat, lost my appetite and can’t
sleep.”
He brought his father and mother and sister to live with him, and began
to work as of old.
“But you are a king,” people remonstrated.
“Even a king must eat,” he said.
One of his ministers came to him and said, “We have no money to pay
salaries.”
“Don’t pay them, then,” he said.
“But no one will serve us.”
“What does it matter? They needn’t. They’ll have more time for work.
There’s the manure to cart; heaps of it lying about.”
When people came to Ivan for justice and said, “That man stole my
money,” Ivan said, “Never mind; he must have wanted it.”
And all realized that Ivan was a fool. And his wife said to him, “People
say you are a fool.”
“What does it matter?” Ivan said.
His wife reflected awhile, but she was also a fool.
“Why should I go against my husband?” she said. “Where the needle
goes, the thread follows.”
 So she took off her royal robes, put them away in a chest and went to
Malania to learn to work. When she knew how, she began to help her
husband.
All the wise left Ivan’s kingdom, and only the fools remained.
Nobody had money. They lived and worked, fed themselves and others.
X
The old Devil waited and waited for news of the Devilkins. He was
expecting to hear that they had ruined the three brothers, but no news came.
He set out himself to find them. He searched and searched, and found
nothing but three holes.
“They’ve not been able to manage it, evidently,” he thought. “I must
tackle the job myself.”
He went to look for the brothers, but they were no longer in their old
places. He found them in their different kingdoms. All three lived and
reigned. The old Devil was annoyed.
“Now we’ll see what I can do!” he said.
First of all he went to King Simon.
He did not go in his own shape, but disguised himself as a general. In
that guise he appeared before King Simon.
“I have heard that you are a great warrior, King Simon,” he said. “I am
well versed in these things and want to serve you.”
And King Simon began to ask him all manner of questions, and seeing
that he was a clever man, he took him into his service.
The new commander instructed King Simon how to collect a large army.
“First of all,” he said, “we must get more soldiers. There are many idle
people in your kingdom. We must conscript all the young men without
exception, then you will have an army five times as large as the one you
have now. Secondly, we must get new guns and cannons. I will get guns
that will fire a hundred bullets at one shot; they will rain out like peas. And
I will get cannons that will consume with fire either man or horse or wall;
they will burn everything.”
King Simon listened to the new commander, and enrolled all the young
men as soldiers and built new factories where he manufactured new guns
and cannons, then he made war on a neighbouring king. As soon as he was
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